the review will be released. john and probably secretary napolitano will discuss their review here at the white house. anticipate that the president and john will continue to look at the situation and evaluate it over the coming months. the review will simply identify and make recommendations as to what was lacking and what needs to be strengthened. the review process will be a dynamic one where the president and john will continue to insure that the agencies are implementing their plans for correcting what was identified in each of those reviews. i will say that yesterday's meeting, each agency and department took responsibility for their aspect of that

systemic failure. each outlined what they had identified as initial shortcomings and ideas for changing those. the president will be anxious to watch that and john will watch that and follow up with each of those agencies as this transpires. yes, ma'am. >> i wanted to clarify something and ask a question. you said will be released tomorrow. >> yes. going back to senator dodd, how do you think it is going to affect financial regulatory reform? he has been a leader in that, some reaction on wall street. >> as is wall street. i will say this, i think senator dodd has been a passionate advocate for ensuring that we have rules in place so that what happened on wall street doesn't happen again, so that we have

strong consumer financial projections. and i think senator dodd will continue to work on that with his committee throughout this process. >> a lame duck. passionate advocate. >> look, knowing senator dodd and the passionate advocate that he is i think he will continue to work hard and want to get this done by the end of the year as the president does, too. >> the president last year said for the end of 2009 for iran to again showing some compliance with the international agencies when it comes to its nuclear program. has there been any movement? has the been any movement by the iranian that we don't know about?

>> well, the next step is ongoing. that is working with our partners in the p5 plus one and throughout the community in looking at the next steps to hold iran unaccountable. we have said and made clear throughout this process that they should act and demonstrate living up to their responsibilities, that failure to act would result in consequences, and that we are in the process of, as you have heard the president discuss, developing what those consequences are with our partners. you have heard the president speak on this. we have noticed continued divisions in iran, including much greater calls for universal

rights and universal values and we are watching as closely as well. >> should we expect that when the nations reconvene the nations will push for economic sanctions the iraq. >> working with our partners and working draft the national community we will take steps to develop what those consequences are and move those toward. >> when the u.n. reconvenes? >> i don't know the exact date. we have begun and had begun even before the end of the year initial discussions both within the administration on what can be done as well as with our international partners. >> some of the comments that the president made right before he went to hawaii. i forget and i apologize. he was asked about the fact that the minority has required cloture, i believe more than

ever before, and what he thought should be done about it. the measures that would require a change of the rules would be, one require 67 votes, one would be a reverse nuclear option. the other one is a bill offered by senator harkin which would have some sort of sliding scale for cloture. is there going, especially with the prospect of losing seats in the senate in 2010 or at the very least a wash is there any consideration or any support by the president for any of the measures to change the rules so that he can have an easier time? >> you know, i have not heard of any discussion. i will check with legislative affairs. i have not heard discussion here

about support for changing those rules. i know senator harkin's bill has been talked about for some time going back to some judicial disputes that were had not too long ago. i think the president's overriding frustration has been, i mentioned this a little bit yesterday in dealing with some personnel. it is not simply that you see tactics purely to delay, purely to watch the clock wind around and around, but they don't even appear to be philosophical. when something gets filibustered and we take 30 hours to debate it and then the ultimate vote is 88-10, is the -- was the filibuster predicated on anything else other than watching the clock wind around?

it is not a philosophical argument. it is just an argument, i suppose, to hear people talk in order to delay the passage of the vital legislation for the american people. i think the president, i think the american people will be frustrated and are frustrated by the lack of not getting anything done just to hear somebody talk. >> political activists want you guys to do something about it. are you going to? >> like i said, have not heard anything about changing it. >> yesterday the president talked about red flags and missing piece of information that the intelligence community had, that involved someone we now know to be the suspect. was this specific information that was tied to an airplane, airliner, anything like that or

was it more general? >> wait for the review to come and allow john to be allowed to speak in depth about all of those issues. i think to reiterate what the president said, sort of top line the president had, we understand this was a systemic failure. we understand we had information in our possession that likely could have prevented or disrupted the incident on the 25th of december from happening. the president is anxious to and did so yesterday promise two hours with his national security and intelligence teams go through some questions about how we got to this point and, more importantly, steps that we are going to take going forward to prevent something like this based on what we have from happening again. >> but is there more that be don't know about? is the more?

without telling us -- >> been very candid about the fact that what we were in possession of in different places and what ultimately was not analyzed up through the chain in order to make the necessary connections to prevent and disrupt this from happening. >> the negotiations that are taking place, the two bills, the house and the senate, why not have a formal conference? why? >> you can ask the leaders of congress, either there or when they are there. jon: that is robert gibbs. a couple interesting notes. the review concerning the breakdown of what happened on the failed christmas day bombing will be out tomorrow. we should get a number of

answers when that comes out. i also want to draw your attention to the bottom box, that is colorado governor bill ritter announcing right now that he will not seek a second term in the fall. it is another top democrat that is deciding to step down versus possibly being voted out in the fall. big development in political world. we have much more on this coming up. jane: clearly the pieces on the chessboard are changing today in a very big way in politics. governor ritter's announcement, he is one of three democrats to say that they will not run for reelection. the other two are very high-profile senate seats. north dakota senator byron dorgan announced his retirement after nearly 30 years, and connecticut senator chris dodd also making a similar announcement just a short time ago. >> after 35 years of representing the people of connecticut and the united states congress i will not be

extended for reelection this november. jane: there you have it. three other democratic senators not seeking reelection including ted kaufman of delaware, will burris, and paul kirk. on the republican side there are six who said they will not run for reelection, and there is a look at those six. democrats could be facing a bit of a battle to keep that filibuster-proof supermajority in the senate. that is the talk of the town today. let's bring in fox news contributor and political analyst juan williams. one of the things that people who love to watch politics like all of us do, figure out how the pieces move around here. what is your take? >> well, i mean, the deal here in washington is that democrats jumping ship. the waters are too turbulent at the moment. it looks like tea party politics, anti-government

politics, and anti-democratic politics, especially with the health care bill right now in the water. it is just too much for democrats. so you see a number of them saying they would prefer not to be around. now, there are some people on the democratic side to say there is something of a silver lining. they don't think that chris dodd was the strongest candidate. you have a candidate behind him, the attorney general who may be a better democrat. but that is all speculation. at the moment what you're seeing is some really high-profile democrats and especially the case with dorgan who are leaving. i don't see how you could say anything but the end of the 60 majority for the democrats in the senate and protection against a republican filibuster. jane: it appears when you look into each of these stories that each of these candidates saw the writing on the wall and did not want to go through what it might have taken. as you point out at we are only

in january. it could very well remain a democrat seat. dorgan situation looks a little bit different. dakota is more typically a republican state. >> right. and you have got a popular governor who was thinking of running and now it looks like he probably will run. that seat is almost certain not to go to hoeven. that is why i think something like that filibuster-proof 60 majority is going to be history. you're right. i am glad you said it. this is january. it is frozen. a different dynamic in place by november. jane: we are going to continue to talk about this a lot more. thank you very much. good to chat with you. jon: another security scare involving a plane full of passengers. explosives making it on to the jet. how it happens, the backlash, and just wait until you hear who admitted putting the explosives

on the jet. not a terrorist organization. plus update time. down a california airport had to be shut down. authorities fearing contained explosives. we now know what this does this substance was. you will not believe what it was.

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trace: welcome back to "the live desk,s is where the news begins and we are the only show that takes you behind the news. that's the national desk

managing news crews across the country can, the foreign desk is in constant contact with our bureaus around the global and all of that information is fed back here to new york to the world headquarters of the fox news channel and on "the live desk," those new pictures will always be in the boxes on the right-hand side of the screen. the top box developing right now, did the speak of the house, nancy pelosi, take a swipe at president obama's transparency? we'll play you exactly what she said and let you decide. in the middle box a very disturbing new report about national security. while we send troops all over the world to fight al-qaeda, there is now word that al-qaeda -- which means the base -- could be setting up base right here in the united states. the panel will detail this chilling new information. and in the bottom box breaking this hour, you see it there, another top democrat calling it

quits. that is colorado governor bill ritter. announcing that he will not seek a second term of governor. for governor in the fall. martha. martha: that's right. and it has been nearly two weeks since authorities say umar farouk abdulmutallab boarded a train bound for detroit and tried to blow it out of the sky. now, in the days since we have seen a numberover security scares, those leading to massive delays and long lines at u.s. airports. so does this mean that security is getting more vigilant, or is there more to it than that? brian wilson is live in washington. brian, first to the tsa. what are they doing? how is what they're doing changing since this christmas day bombing attempt? >> well, domestically, they're ramping up security. internationally, it's very tough if you're flying into this country from overseas. here are the results for the week following christmas, tell you how that all ends up at the terminal. twenty-eight passengers the week after christmas were arrested

after investigations of suspicious behavior or presented fraudulent travel documents. twelve firearms were found, four artfully-concealed prohibited items, and this is sort of the big one. there have been 24 incidents that involved a check poibt closure -- checkpoint closure or a sterile area breach even though it was a busy travel week, i think this is probably a little bit above normal. martha: i'm just curious, any indication that any of those led to anything? >> well, you know, it's hard to get -- that's all the basic information you get from the tsa. they actually hold their information quite close. but there is some indication that the tsa is catching some flak through this incident that occurred at the newark air pollution where a passenger walked into the exit while a tsa officer was apparently on the phone. the governor has said it's

shaken the confidence of the american people. take a listen. >> the recent incidents here and in detroit underscore the need for us to be ten steps ahead of terrorists, not one step behind. >> and that newark incident, the security camera wasn't working, and there was a 50-minute delay between the breach and the closure in the terminal, something that senator menendez and i guess many americans would say is sort of unacceptable. there have been some other incidents in philadelphia, the ts a-bomb-sniffing dog failed a test, they had a scare at the bakersfield airport, i won't reveal all that. but they have had a few problems along the way, a few bumps in the road as they sort of ramp up security. best advice, get there a little early, be very careful about the gels and liquids you put in your suitcase. martha: thank you very much. they still don't know who that person was in newark, and they have no pictures, so no way to the find them.

trace: there was a scene that played out here yesterday on "the live desk," a passenger's bag testing positive for tnt. remember this? authorities finding some sort of liquid inside. well, we now know what the liquid was. >> honey? trace: it was honey. it was soda bottles filled with honey. martha: why? trace: the fbi saying tests confirm it was, in fact, honey. tsa agents overcome by the fumes. martha: that's the funniest part of the story. trace: investigators still trying to figure out how the honey tested positive for tnt. we're trying to figure out the same thing. martha: or why the person had bottles of honey -- trace: i think i know that, bakersfield is one of the honey capitals. you take it home, it's great stuff. but it was honey, and everything is back to normal there. martha: all right.

coming up, nancy pelosi's office is now responding to what some are seeing as a verbal swipe that she took at the president. we're going to show you exactly what she said so you can decide for yourself right after this. country western ♪ singer: we were stuck in a basement apartment ♪ ♪ tiny rooms that the sun never blessed ♪ ♪ so when we needed space for a family ♪ ♪ set our sights on the wide open west ♪ ♪ well i thought we'd see sierra vistas ♪ ♪ and breathe air clear as new-fallen snow ♪ ♪ but my poor credit score was a stinker. ♪ ♪ singer: ...now we rent by the week in reno! ♪ ♪ truckers: free credit report dot com! ♪ ♪ singer: ...now we rent by the week in reno! ♪ vo: free credit score and report with enrollment in triple advantage. is enjoying it together. and right now, a complete seafood dinner for two is just $29.99 at red lobster. you both get a fresh salad and irresistible cheddar bay biscuits...

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trace: well, as democrats work to merge house and senate versions of the overhaul, they're looking to keep the process behind closed doors. democratic leaders are set to meet with president obama at the white house in about an hour, this as brian lamb is asking congress for permission to televise the final negotiations. a suggestion made by president obama himself back when he was a candidate. he's now not pushing for that. and house speaker nancy pelosi was asked about that yesterday. listen to this. >> well, no decision has been --

>> [inaudible] >> really? well -- [laughter] there are a number of things that were said on the campaign trail. trace: yeah, a number of things he promised on the campaign trail. when asked about the comment, pelosi's spokesperson said it was merely a quip. what she was referring to was this statement from then-candidate obama during a debate with hillary clinton back in january 2008. again, listen. >> that's what i will do in bringing all parties together and not negotiating behind closed doors, but bringing all parties together and broadcasting those negotiations on c-span so that the american people can can see what the choices are. trace: with us now, fox news contributor and conservative radio host monica crowley and former speech writer to president bill clinton, josh god heymer. welcome to you both. excuse me, i was telling them

the tail end of a cold, right? i know this is kind of politics as usual, they say this is the way it goes, but wasn't this was change was supposed to be about? you don't do that anymore? >> exactly. when president obama was campaigning last year, he promised at least eight times, trace, on the campaign trail that he was going to allow these health care reform negotiations to be very public, to have total public access to this so that there wasn't going to be the perception that there was anything to hide. after all, we're talking about remaking one-sixth of the american economy in something that is going to intimately affect every american's life. so the question now is why don't the democrats want the c-span cameras in there, what are they hiding? trace: what's the answer to that, josh? >> i think you've never seen, actually, a more transparent process throughout the health care debate. the sausage is never pretty when it's made, and i think the obama administration and congress has gone overboard to talk about every deal that's happened and get it done and every debate has been public. this is at the very end, they're

trying to hammer out -- trace: so, josh, you're saying there's been enough transparency up to this point, enough is enough, now we can go behind closed doors? >> no, you said that. i didn't say that. what i would say is the republicans have done everything possible to come up with every excuse under the sun to the claim everything's not perfect in this bill and stop it -- [inaudible] trace: i guess it's a fair claim. he's just saying, monica, you bring the cameras in, the republican are going to start delaying. >> not perfect is what josh just said to describe this health care bill. well, that's an understatement. >> i'm sorry, when did i say that? >> you just said -- >> i didn't say that. >> -- this bill was not perfect, and i said that was an understatement. they did their procedural vote in the middle of the night, the senate took their final vote on christmas eve morning at 7:00 in the morning. they are doing everything possible -- >> to move the process along. [laughter] >> -- what is really in this

bill? if you have nothing to hide, spend a couple of months dissecting it, josh. >> all i can say is that every republican -- i love republicans who complain about transparency. dick cheney and george bush didn't do anything out in the open, they -- >> the left can cannot make one single sentence without resurrecting bush and cheney. >> yeah, and we're cleaning up their mess. every person that goes into the white house, every part of the process in this president has been much more transparent. this legislation is important and will get done. trace: are we concerned once the lights go out, once the cameras go out and these sweetheart back room deals begin all over again? >> no, not at all. i think if anything, any deal that was done has been made public, and the fact -- [inaudible] >> after the fact. and that's why over 60% of the american people hate what the democrats are proposing here, and that's why they're trying to keep it secret because they know

the public is not behind them. trace: gotta go. >> that's because of republicans. martha: faces are becoming known to the us, they grew up in the shadow of 9/11 and were radicalized by the events that came after that. spreading their hatred in the dark tunnels of the internet, they're now being called by some the children of bin laden. what you need to know about the new face of terror in america. and then we have this for you, a couple guys goofing around on a train platform, one of them falls onto the tracks. his friends desperately -- there you see him going down onto the tracks, trying to get him before the train pulls away. this whole drama is next.

trace: back live in the newsroom, it's the bottom of the hour. we are brand new information, now, on three big stories. new information on the homicide bomber who killed seven cia agents in afghanistan. katherine herd with the latest on that. >> we're learning more about the alleged bomber from his writings on the internet from the wed magazine that suicide attacks are justified because of the west, he says, and support of attacks in pakistan. the man who identifies himself as the father of two young girls claims there is no higher call canning than to die for his religion. this interview is cleary for

propaganda -- clearly for prop propaganda purposes. i'll have more about that investigation at the top of the hour, trace. trace: katherine, thank you. 16 million unemployed americans, now there is word that some companies are moving manufacturing jobs to china. let's get to molly, she's on the job hunt in massachusetts. molly. >> trace, america's solar industry is struggling in the midst of this recession. this is a company that's expanded in recent years, they've built a new facility, hired an additional 800 workers in the area, but they say that they're moving some of their manufacturing to china, that it's a necessary move in these economic times to keep their business viable and competitive in this global market. trace. >> molly line live for us on the job hunt. when you pay more for orange juice, coming up, the reason why is a deep freeze in florida. janis dean with the latest on the chill. >> yeah, and the big story here,

trace, of course we're looking at video from broward county where people are bundling up. for folks in south florida, this is the a deep freeze, and we're talking about temperatures in the lower 30s, lower 20s for the foreseeable future or at least until the weekend. there are the morning lows, 27 in tampa, 0 in miami, tallahassee you're under a hard freeze watch again tonight, temperatures drifting to 26 degrees, even colder this weekend, trace, with temperatures dipping to the teens. and that is most certainly going to affect crops in florida, and we're going to pay for it in orange juice. trace: phil keating had a jacket on. that is brand new information at the bottom of the hour. martha: one thing that we have learned about al-qaeda is that it is patient, and it has all the time in the world. what we are seeing right now in america has long been predicted

by terror analysts. the attempt in 1993 to bring down the world trade center failed, but then eight years later al-qaeda continued to work on that plot and, sadly, succeeded. and after 9/11, talk started to turn as everyone discussed what had happened to home grown terror. operatives who were born here or who had american passports and could travel back and forth freely. they have had over eight years to come of age in the shadow of september 11th, and now it appears that they are ready. this is the new reality of the war on terror. we have seen it play out in the fort hood killings, major nadal hassan charged with those murders, we've also seen it in the plans of the airport bus driver in denver and the five missing young men from d.c. who were later picked up in pakistan on suspicion of plotting terror attacks here in the u.s. and now in the thwarted christmas bomber, umar farouk ab

dub, that is just to name a few of the incidents we have seen. steven yates is a former deputy assistant to vice president dick cheney for security affairs at the progressive policy institute. when you put all of this together, jim, it is disturb thing, and it clearly creates a pattern of the new face of terror in this country. do you agree with that? >> well, yeah, to a certain point. i want to take one exception to the fort hood shootings. major hassan did not spend any time outside of the country can -- martha: but he was in touch with alaw key, and he talked about the fact that what drove him was a dissatisfaction with what the u.s. was doing and an inability to support the united states and the a desire to -- >> sure, but the important thing to remember is with terrorism you're trying to affect a change in policy, you're trying to get people to change their behavior,

and there was no motivation to do that. this was a man who was under immense mental strain, and he snapped, and it's unfortunate. that's very different from an al-qaeda -- martha: i don't know, we could continue to argue that, but in terms of the larger premise here, do you agree that what we've heard about for years, that home grown terror was going to become the problem, that people could pass in and out of this country with greater ease were going to be the next wave, do you agree that's what we're seeing now. >> sure, that is a certain extent of the problem. we saw that in europe with bosnia, there are perhaps certain scenarios under which such a thing could happen in the united states, but let's be clear about intentions and capabilities. a massive al-qaeda attack takes a long time to train and prepare for, and i would argue that that capability largely only rests with those individuals along the afghan/pakistan border. sure, we may see mall shootings,

we may see smaller terrorist attacks like the one that was attempted in detroit, and this is a very important point, we have to learn to live with the fact that we cannot create a 100% secure safety net throughout the country. it's just impossible. martha: steven, what do you think about that? >> well, i think that there's a lot behind the current problems we face. i mean, really, i think the administration came in diagnosing that the problem with the world was the nature of the united states or at least the last administration, and what it turns out is that there's a determined network that aims to kill us. a rehabilitated terrorist is one that ceases to breathe, in my view. these guys are set forth as killing machines. we used to be a nation on a war footing, and this administration has methodically pulled us back from a war footing, and it seems like facts on the ground are starting to pull us back to our senses. of course, in any war the enemy seeks to infiltrate and --

martha: both of you articulate both sides of the way of looking at this, and, jim, you know, you're going to have an incident here or there, you may have people killed in a mall or on a train, that it's sort of an incident by incident situation and not something that's driven by a desire that is coordinated in some way, you know, over the internet and that goes back to some of these countries that seeks to create a terror situation across this country. >> sure. we have to look at al-qaeda in a different way, and i'm worried when we talk about things like this on the media the word al-qaeda can strikes, really, fear into the hearts of americans everywhere, as well it should because it draws us back to the september 11th. however, these groups, these affiliates in yemen, north africa and iraq are very different. they don't accept command and control from the al-qaeda senior leadership along the -- martha: yeah, but everybody knows we're talking about al-shabab, al-qaeda in the arab peninsula, we understand

these different groups we're talking about. >> i'm not sure that america does because we talk about it very flippantly. we say al-qaeda in the arabian peninsula, and many americans think we're talking about some direct offshoot of the group in afghanistan and pakistan. that's not necessarily true. this group has different goals, parking lot of which are anti-american, but another distinct part is to the disrupt the saudi and yemeni regimes. that's the primary goal -- martha: yes, but the evidence is that they're training people and turning them to look outside of their home area and to attack here. i want to get one last thought, just to be fair, from steven yates. i wish we had more time, gentlemen. >> we can worry about labels all we want, but these are radical islamists determined to kill americans and others. they're bringing their violence here, and what we're seeing is either with coordination with americans at home or by sending people on planes. we used to have agents fighting terrorists on american terms, we now have airline passengers --

>> that's fundamentally not true, for the record. martha: steven, do you want to respond to that? >> i don't know what record he's reading. >> the idea that the united states has somehow backed away from this fight against al-qaeda under the obama administration is fundamentally flawed on many different levels. true, the obama administration views this war as not even a war, as a combination of a law enforcement and intelligence -- >> that defeats the point. they don't consider it a war, that takes us off a war footing, makes us less safe. we say we're going to close guantanamo bay, the attacks continue -- martha: all right, gentlemen. thank you very much. always good to have you with us. >> thank you for having me. martha: we'll continue this conversation as it goes on. thank you, gentlemen. trace: you know, we have some amazing video to show you captured by surveillance cameras in beaver torrance oregon. check out the group of young men on the upper left-hand side of your screen.

they're messing around on the platform. one of them falls down onto the tracks in between the train and the platform wall. his friends desperately trying to pull him back up. now, check this out from a different camera. the man is still down on the tracks as the train pulls away. when it goes out of the picture, you can see his friends jump down onto the tracks to help him. luckily, he only suffered a mild foot injury, and here's why, authorities say the train was able to pass over him without touching him because they were using a newer train that day with higher clearance from those tracks. yikes. well, airport security headlines in recent weeks and now there's word of yet another security breach. the dangerous substance that got on an airplane. the international fallout and why the person at the center of the story is not in trouble. are you receiving a payout from a legal settlement

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martha: all right. president obama today speaking

at a teachers' event in the east room live, it's an event to honor teachers for excellence in math and science, just one of the busy things on the president's schedule today. let's listen for a moment. >> joe biden, dr. jill biden and vice president joe biden are here. [applause] somebody, i've never met somebody who's more passionate about making sure that young people do well than my secretary of education, arne duncan. [applause] arne duncan. my -- before i won a nobel peace prize, this guy had won it and nobody questioned whether he deserved it or not -- [laughter] my secretary of energy the, steven chu. [applause] three wonderful members of congress who have devoted a lot

of energy to the issue of science and math education, i want to acknowledge them. representative bart gordon who's the chairman of the science and technology committee, democrat from tennessee. where's bart? [applause] there he is. thank you, bart. representative william lacy clay from the great state of missouri, and his district is home to two teachers who are being honored here today so he's very proud of them. [applause] and a great champion of education generally, he's the chairman of the education and labor committee, representative george miller of california is in the house. [applause] we also -- martha: all right. those are the hellos and around the rooms for an event honoring teachers for excellence in math and science, very important to recognize those great teachers across our nation, and that's exactly what's happening in the east room of the white house at this moment. trace? trace: well, november is still ten months away -- 11 months,

no? eleven. players on the chess board are clearly changing. two prominent democratic senators taking their house out of the ring. with a 60-seat majority on the line, colorado's governor also saying so long as well. what will republicans do now? who better to ask than karl rove? he's coming up. ( sneeze ) transform drinks you want, into cold medicine you need. introducing fast crystal packs. a new way from alka-seltzer plus to... get cold and flu relief in a taste-free, fizz-free powder. alka-seltzer plus.

trace: well, an airport security test gone very wrong. in the end, explosives ended up in the cargo hold of a plane full of passengers. and an innocent man was detained by authorities. as for those responsible? they did not come forward with the truth until three days later. harris faulkner following all of

this for us in the newsroom. harris. >> all right. so now we can kill the suspense, who was responsible for this? get this, the leading law enforcement agency in slovakia. their head police force and now their interior ministry is already apologizing for what's happened, but the damage has been done. get this, that foreign border police force thought that it might be a good idea to test this international airport by sneaking some explosives into random luggage to see if the airport screeners would pick it up. well, they did pick it up, but the police officers neglected to remove the explosives from the luggage. now, remember, this is random luggage. the person who checked that luggage doesn't know this is happening. he's sitting on a flight where that luggage is now going into the cargo hold in his seat getting ready to go back to where he works in dublin, ireland. the plane lands. this is all on saturday. three days later the authorities, according to those

in ireland, the authorities in slovakia contacted the irish authorities to say, you know what? there was this guy, and we forgot to take out the explosives from his luggage, you might want to pick him up. they shut down a major portion of inner city dublin to go to this man's apartment and sure enough they found -- and i want to get this right -- 90 grams of research development explosives, rdx. and what experts around the world including experts in this very country are responding by saying even though there was no detonator, that's a lot of explosives and very, very dangerous. meanwhile, the guy who was in charge of putting this whole thing forward just a short while ago has offered his resignation. slovakia's interior ministry, again, apologizing for all of this. nobody hurt, but all of this to check the airport's security, and they forgot to take the explosives. trace? trace: harris, thank you. martha: yeah, trace, we're over

here at the media desk. we just got some video, and it's interesting because we've been looking and hearing about this yemen military crackdown on al-qaeda. and this is just video of the area where they think they are zeroing in on a leader of al-qaeda in yemen. so we just got this tape in. i thought it was of interest because most of us have never seen yes, ma'am b, and -- yemen, and this is basically the area, we are told, where they believe this al-qaeda leader lives. the belief was they had taken out two members of an al-qaeda cell in yemen and that they were zeroing in on the home of the leader. this is the basic area, the basic terrain in which they are doing that, we are told, so that video just coming into our media desk and thought we would share that with you. trace, back to you. trace: seven brave c can ia agents taken out in a brazen attack. now we're learning more about the bomber who murdered them and the toll this tragedy has taken on the intel community, next.

trace: welcome to a brand-new hour of the live dress can. martha: i'm martha maccallum. he has been a democratic fixture in the senate. chris dodd announced he will not

seek reelection. he was facing some pretty difficult poll numbers in connecticut after several controversies plagued his campaign a bit. he said it is time for new blood. president obama thanked senator dodd for his service to the nation. the president offered him the best wishes for the future. saying while his work in the senate is not yet finished, his leadership in that institution will be missed. why the decision on chris dodd's part to step down? >> this picturesque new england-type town where senator christopher dodd lives in an 1854 schoolhouse. it was on those front steps that he emerged to announce that he will be quitting. five terms in the senate. a legend in a seat that has been

held by democrats for 46 years. he's in the toughest political shape. only a third of the connecticut voters said they plan to support him. basically financial allegations dealing with him. two controversial mortgages from countrywide financial claiming he got special treatment. he was cleared by the senate ethics committee. and also that he had an amendment to the stimulus bill to give aig $150 million in bonuses and a house bought in ireland under suspicious circumstances. he has two young children, 8 and 4 years old, and of course lost his best friend in the senate, senator edward kennedy just this last summer.

richard blumenthal could replace him. two republicans running. robb simmons and linda mcmahon. she is the wife of vince mcmah mcmahon. pretty shocking because it's such a big name. would he have won? >> chris dodd would not have won. the writing is clearly on the wall. he lost the trust of the voters. he would not have won come november. >> people will be surprised at this around the country. was it the financial aspects during economic recession? was it too much for him to potentially overcome? >> it was too much. people have put pieces together, realizing part of our financial crisis did start with

deregulation in this finance and banking committee, and chris dodd was the chairman of that committee. people lost trust in his financial dealings. they are tired of arrogant politicians and they wanted him out. >> if that's the case, those voters who feel that way got their wish. the senator is retiring and naming his family who were with him when he made the announcement today. martha: richard blumenthal the state attorney general in connecticut will be on with kneel cavuto later oneilcavuto . trace: we know two of the men killed in the strike on forward operating base were private

contractors. employees of blackwater. a for-hire company used by the cia. officials are naming the suspect behind the attack, and they say it was planned inside of pakistan. catherine herridge is live for us in d.c. >> according to western intelligence officials, al-balawi has a long record of supporting jihad. in an interview al-balawi who identifies himself as a family man in his 30s with two small girls was asked why he believes in the sanctity of martyrdom. he says the attacks are justified because of the attacks in afghanistan. he says do they expect us to wear garlands of flowers and

wear our holiday best? this interview translated by memory is clearly propaganda but it provides insight into the motivation of the alleged a bomber and it shows how freely he was moving within the jihadist world. trace: what do you know about another name surfacing in this investigation? >> he's considered one of the top intelligence agents. he was involved in the denver shuttle bus driver who allegedly planned to bomb new york city. he's described as primarily a trainer and recruiter of operatives inside pakistan. u.s. officials say they reached no conclusions as to who and which groups were behind the attack at the cia base.

trace: how big of a blow is this to the cia? >> there is pushback on the initial reporting. a senior official tells us the cia has a deep bench on counter-terrorism. those killed and wounded are heros. but they have many capable friend and colleagues prepared to push the fight farther and harder. the atmosphere there is one of utter focus and determination. the place is absolutely galvanized. this official would suggest any plans to change tactics along the pakistan border would be premature. martha: the obama administration wants to expand the reach and power of irs agents. they plan to test and screen professionals preparing tax returns. as you get your w-2s in the

mail -- there is still a lot of unknowns about these new regulations. but in general what will the irs be requiring of tax preparers? >> nothing this year. the irs is sending a letter to tax preparers who have had errors in the past asking them to step up their accuracy. they will have to register every three years and pay a user fee for registering. they will have to pass a competency test. and tax preparers will have to take 15 hours a year of continuing education courses. dowel schulman says -- doug shulman says these are important for consumer so they don't get bad advice. martha: not everybody thinks

these regulations will mean better advice for these consumers. >> some taxpayer advocates says it might get some of the unethical tax repairers out of the business -- the tax repair repairers off the radar screen. listen to this. >> when you have a moving target such as the texas law the tax l. this is a matter of weeding out worst law breakers. when it comes to the tax code just about every one is incompetent. >> the user fees the irs will impose likely will be passed on to their clients. martha: thank you, molly. trace: taking a look at christmas day terror suspect.

umar farouk abdulmutallab. what does he know about al qaeda. did he tell u.s. authorities anything before the feds allowed him to lawyer up? could they have gotten more information if they decided to try him in a military court versus a civilian court?

martha: lots of cold weather across the nation and bitter

cold temperatures gripping the southeast. we'll keep you posted on all of that this january day. thousands gathering for the funeral of civil rights pioneer percy sutton. he is being remembered today. in the bottom patriot quarterback tom brady earning the comeback of the year award after he came back strong from a knee injury that cost hip the entire season last season. but he is back. trace: the former homeland security chief speaking out about the admin straying's decision -the administration'sdk

abdulmutallab in a civilian court. here is michael chertoff this morning on fox and friends. >> the critical question we don't know the answer to is whether this guy gave information and they exhausted it or whether they needed more time. they could have intear gate the guy for -- they could have interrogated him for as long as they wanted to. trace: it is a good point. if you take him into a military court you could have put him through this interrogation. you may have gleaned more information. do you agree? >> absolutely. not only could they have done it if they tried him in a military tribunal. and if they wanted to bring him into a regular federal court system later they could have

done that. but keep him in military hands. trace: back in 1993, the first world trade center bombing, yu yusef was the nephew of khalid sheikh mohammed. could they have gleaned more information from yusef? that's one of the examples the administration cites but it would have been to see how much they could have gleaned from him. >> if you look at how they handled ksm, the information was used to thwart the bombing in l.a. they used the military to

interrogate ksm. once he has a lawyer, that's it, they are not going to get any information out of him. trace: they could have taken him to a military court. now that he's lawyered up you can't go the opposite way. >> potentially -- it would be difficult. very difficult to do at this point. trace: a lot of people believe this a legal sleight of hand. >> it's a time of war. this was an attempted attack on the united states over united states soil. we have the right to hold him as an enemy combatant as opposed to a simple criminal in the united states. trace: you talk about closing gitmo. they won't send any yemenis back to yemen. it was a reverse of what the administration talked about a

few days ago. is it significant when you talk about closing down guantanamo bay? >> it makes it more difficult. they will take potentially 100 people going back to yemen and put them into illinois. they finally realized these people are dangerous. two of the people previously released are running al qaeda in the area that trained the christmas day bomber. they are bringing them onto u.s. soil. if they escape, they escape into the united states. it's a crazy system. trace: great to see you. thanks very much. martha: the decision whether to move the detainees from guantanamo bay to the heart of the midwest could november forward today. a government panel in illinois is holding a hearing on whether to close the thompson center in illinois. the administration wants to buy

it. in the ends illinois's governor will have the final say. steve brown is watching all of this from chicago. what's happening at this hearing so far? >> they have held the public hearing last month. now they are basically coming down to their final discussion amongst panel members. this is an evenly split panel all from the state legislature meeting to discuss and they will offer up an advisory opinion on the proposed sale of thompson. it's not binding but it opens up the process for public comment. the governor can have a listen how people in his state feel about this proposed transfer. martha: what do we think the governor will say? he gets the final word. >> it is surplus property. it's designed for hundreds and there isn't any purpose for it.

the state has the opportunity to unload surplus property. there really only is one way to get rid of a prison and that's to sell to the federal government. the governor will get the final say on this. and pat quinn has promised to release a statement later today. martha: any more hurdles you can see? >> what surprises me are comments attributed to senator deck durbin. -- senatosenator dick durbin. he tells this blogger that the christmas day bomber did not make that effort any easier. it's likely to go slower in his view. as much as the president would

like to close guantanamo and get that behind us, there are hurdles on the state and federal level he will have to deal with. >> thank you very much. trace? trace. right now there are violent clashes in the contested region of kashmir. the attack sending panicked shoppers running for their lives. it happened in the indian administered portion of kashmir. a rebel group in the area claimed responsibility for that attack. tensions running high along the gaza strip. the border there. but this time between egyptian security forces and palestinians. the clashes erupting over the delay of an international aid convoy. one egyptian border guard is

dead. others were injured when stones were thrown at them. 15 palestinians are said to be injured. gaza rulers called for a protest but they lost control as hundreds of youths began hurling rocks across the border. martha: house democrats are about to begin a meeting on healthcare. nancy pelosi is en route to the might house. they are going to be working out a plan to merge the major policy differences that exist between the house version and the senate version. and we don't have any information that there will be republicans participating in this conversation. we'll be right back. ))

trace: breaking news crossing the wire. fox confirmed that the accused holocaust museum shooter has died in a prison hospital. you recall he went on a shooting rampage in d.c. in the june of last year. he shot and killed a security guard in that rampage. he has now died in a prison. martha: democratic leaders from the house are gathering on a critical meeting on healthcare at the white house. nancy pelosi according to our wires are en route to the white house. they have been summoned by the president. he wants them to work out the differences between the house and senate bills and to bypass the usual negotiations to speed up this process. he wants to get this healthcare bill done. the senate leaders have agreed

to resolve their differences without setting up a formal conference committee. the goal is to get a bill on the president's desk before the state of the union address. trace: for a closer look at overall cost of healthcare. plans on the table will generate a surplus in the and help cut the deficit. jim agjim age is livedeficit. >> he promised not to sign a health bill that increased the deficit or sign one that cost more than $900 billion and lawmakers say that's what they delivered. >> the president and we and the senate pledged this will be paid for, it will bring down costs and it will bring down the deficit. >> to get there at least on

paper, democratic leaders in the house and senate kept massaging the numbers until they fit. when democratic leaders told the cbo they would raise taxes and cut medicare the cbo said that course of action would reduce the deficit by $132 billion. critics, however, are extremely sceptical. >> there are a number of things that make that i am plausibl ma. if you take that out of the equation it goes from being a small deficit reducer to a deficit increaser. >> that's known as the doctor fix and that alone would put the bill in the red.

trace: the so-called doctor fix is a long standing issue. why isn't it in the healthcare reform bill. >> several reasons. it costs too much. this is an effort to undo one of congress' previous effort to reduce medicare spending. they worry cutting payments to doctor who treat medicare patients will reduce their access to care, not to mention getting lawmakers thrown out of congress. it was in the house and senate bills. fixing it would cost $200 billion over 10 years so they took it out. they still plan to do it, but won't pay for it. >> eventually you will have to do something that's longer term and the question is how will that be financed or lit be wille financed? >> the house did not count it

adding to the deficit. it's like going out spending money and pretending it doesn't come out off your bank account. martha: three influential democrats announced they are stepping down today. after the dust settles what will the political game board look like? karl rove is here to break it down three minutes from now. [ male announcer ] a bad cold hits your whole body. alka-seltzer plus liquid gels rush relief everywhere you need it. it's the most complete relief you can get in a liquid gel, so you feel better, fast. alka-seltzer plus liquid gels. or annuity over 10 or even 20 years? call imperial structured settlements. the experts at imperial can convert your long-term payout into a lump sum of cash today.

trace: we have brand-new information on three big stories. and the white house is expected to release a terror report tomorrow. >> president obama is set to speak tomorrow afternoon after john brennan presents that report to the president of the united states. an unclassified version of that report will be released publicly looking into the facts that led up to that christmas day attack. when asked if there will be personnel changes robert gibbs would not speculate. trace: what has been done since that failed christmas day bomb attack? >> tighter security following the christmas day attempt to blow up an airliner. the cia says there were 24 incidents where checkpoints or terminals were closed for security reasons.

senator menendez of new jersey is attacking th the incident ate airport. traceairport.trace. trace: three top democrats calling it quits. >> senators byron dorgan, chris dodd and colorado governor bill ritter. some democrats krats are sayin e is a silver lining here. trace: that's brand-new information at the bottom of the hour.

martha: shannon bream's reporting brings us into america's election headquarters. three top democrats announcing they will not seek reelection. how does that add up for the numbers and the political playing field? who better to ask than karl ro rove. good to see you, welcome. >> thanks, martha, good to see you. martha: what does it tell you about the temperature in america that these three individuals have decided not to good time to run again. >> it shows the democrats have real problems in 2010 in the fall elections. some of the smarter democrats and more vulnerable democrats understand that. they are pulling the ripcord rather than going through a losing campaign.

byron dorgan was behind. bill ritter was losing to the republican. so it shows a bad environment for the democrats. some of them have responded by pulling the ripcord. i don't think this is the last we have seen of senators or governors saying i'm not running for reelection. martha: in some of those cases. connecticut in particular he makes room for blumenthal who is a popular attorney general. democrats are breathing a see you of relief. >> connecticut is a mixed bag for the democrats. dodd was such a crippled candidate that richard blumenthal who is personally popular is leading both the republican candidates. so it's good news for the

democrats in the short run. once you have a popular office holder who is the state attorney general starts to have to confront the federal issues that have driven a lot of the angst we'll see how he performs. in north doa north dakota. it was bad news for the democrats when byron dorgan, a long-term member of the senate pulled the ripcord. martha: i know you love to squeeze the numbers. we are 11 months away. robert gibbs didn't want to go there with the discussion today. >> we are in the middle and the white house knows this. in the middle of one of the most important periods of the election season. that's when people make a decision whether they are going to run or not. this will be hurtful for the democrats because good

candidates won't step forward. i'm going to keep track of the senate races at rove.com. my sense is this is an even tradeoff. north dakota goes to the lead republican column. it means republicans gain 4-6 seats in the senate depending on the quality of the candidates and the campaigns that could be from 6-8 seats. but this is not good news for the democrats. also not good news for the democrats in the colorado governor's race. in order to keep the seat they may have to lose a member of the president's cabinet. democrats in colorado believe ken salazar could hold the seat, but president obama would lose a cabinet member after one year in office. he might be interested in doing it. he might pull the ripcord and go

home to run for governor. martha: he had no comment on that, but that's not a no. all of this -- i want to put up the picture of the six republicans, also. i want to let people know six republicans are also leaving the senate on the republican side. i want to get your thoughts -- >> you are right about the six, but they left the race last ye year. robb portman emerged. every one of these races they did it early enough that a republican had a chance to emerge and republicans stand a good chance of winning every one of these races. there is only one up for grabs and that's the kentucky race. martha: i want to bring up the pictures of the six so people could visualize the folks you are talking about.

there they are. if this provides an opportunity for republicans win know you have said, you can't just sit back and expect that some of these democratic races will blow up based on what has happened. you have to provide a positive alternative. what areas do you want to see republicans come out strongly on in presenting a good alternative? >> taxes, spending, deficits, healthcare, jobs and the economy. people will be concerned about what do you do when you strengthen the economy. what do you do about my taxes? you also need quality of life issues. things like education. most important p important of as authenticity of the candidate. people respond to candidates they believe have passion and conviction about issues. even if it isn't the most

important on their personal radar scope or if they don't agree 100% with the candidate. they want to know the person is going to do the right thing out of conviction of principles. martha: i'm sure they will have time to come up to the forefront over the next 10 months. we'll see mentionful economic recoverysome meaningfulopportunu would like to see out there. what do you think about that? >> what matters is -- the american economy is going to recover. the question in people's minds is, they see the actions of the administration as retarding or speeding up that recovery or strengthening or weakening that recovery. today the president's approval rating on deficits among

independents is 20%. they look at the government and see that red ink and say when is the government going to get its budget in order. rasmussen, the republicans have a 9-point lead in a generic ballot. that's bigger than they had election day 199 when the 1994 y swept the congress. martha: i want to get a quick thought from you on the president's speech yesterday on this issue of this would-be plane bomb on christmas. how does this play out politically for him? >> i thought it was useful for him to say the mistakes were made. what i worry about in a republican or democrat senate is the attack on the intelligence community. this is a complex problem you

are asking men and women to deal with every single day to personalize it and say the intelligence community blew it. when you are president you have to take responsibility on your shoulders. it would have been better to take the responsibility on his showedders rather than pointing a finger on the intelligence community and saying they blew it. martha: thank you very much. we'll see you soon. trace: heaven on earth for gadget lovers. the consumer electronics show in las vegas. some of the biggest names in television are announcing plans to begin broadcasting in 3d. this has got to be huge. you have got to put the glasses on in your living room? >> they are hoping all the success behind "avatar," they love the 3d. the industry is making a bet folks will want to take that same experience into their homes, put on the glasses and

watch 3d television. two channels announced, espn 3d will launch in june. they will kick it off with a world cup game. big bets that this is the way things are going. also discovery teamed up with sony and imax for a discovery channel in 3d. trace: if i buy the new 3d tv i can watch a football game in 3d. >> you will be scared of the fight happening on the ice if you are watching the rangers game. it will be the full 3d experience. the problem, critics say, some of us just spent a lot of money on our h.d tvs. they have been around before but we haven't had the content. will folks go buy those tvs?

trace: i thought 3d had to have special tamaras. >> huge coscameras.>> you will a separate camera, a separate crew and separate announcer. they will have to broadcast these games twice. one for the regular programming and another for the 3d. but this is the way things are going. so espn, discovery, sony, they are all jumping on board. it turned out to be the major theme at the electronics show in las vegas. martha: i can't imagine wearing 3d glasses in my living room to watch tv. trace: the newsroom in 3d. we are going to the media desk.

martha: images of president obama and the first lady popping up in major ad campaigns without their permission. i'll show you that in just a moment. how these companies might be getting away with it next. quality and reliability...

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trace: a billboard in new york city's times square stirring up a lot of fuss. that's not a look-alike. that's president obama in an ad for weather proof coats. but the president did not pose for this ad. instead the company bought the picture from the associated press. never getting the okay from the white house to do this. the fur is flying over a new ad campaign for peta using the first lady's image without her permission.

how is weather proof defending its use of this? >> he said the company -- they said the president is a leader in style and looks great in their coat. he admit they did not get permission from the white house to create the sign, but they did get permission from the photographer who took the picture and credit the associated press on the ad. they say he's wearing the ultra-tech parka. >> we are always looking to raise the image of weather proof. what better way than to have the president of the united states wearing our jacket. >> the white house says the president's image is not supposed to be used for commercial purposes. trace: the first lady is in an ad for peta? >> they featur peta said we havd

the white house to fund or promote the campaign as they can't do such things. but michelle obama issued a statement that she doesn't wear fur. in peta's eyes, that makes her pretty fabulous. it's all the rage. they take these cases on a case-by-case basis. they may go to these companies and say you need to take those down right away. thank you. let's head over to the fox report with help. martha: we are over here in a special place -- >> that's a wall.

martha: hi, kim. kim works on shepard's show. do you have something fascinating today? >> some very good video. story, kim and martha,. martha: america. >> and the world. this $30 million lottery wish missing in florida, in this video he's explaining why he might want to go away. but there is a woman pushing him to say things. >> why do you want to go away? where do you want to go away? he says, i'm not that picky, i'm go anywhere. >> they think he might have been killed for his lottery winnings. martha: they think he might have been set up for his winnings? >> we'll get into that.

>> we'll talk homeland security fixes. sheila jackson-lee is a member of the homeland security committee and peter king who is a ranking member of the committee. you know they will get after it, that's what they do. he was on gma this morning. we are loving diane at 6:30 on world news. she is awesome. martha: thank you, helped art. thank you, kim. trace: phil keating is live in tampa, florida with some amazing technology. hey, phil. >> hi, trace. the full-body scanners that have been deployed in the united states, you take a look at the laptop screen, you see me in there. this is thermal imagery technology. it's said to be just as good as spotting explosives and weapons.

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trace: the attempted bombing of the delta flight is calling for more security at airports and public place. but when safety comes up against privacy concerns, the question is raids. when does invasive technology cross the line? phil keating is live in tampa, florida with more. how is this different? >> this is wave technology that shows some details on the human form. this is called thermal imagery technology. it starts with that infrared sensory camera.

it's attached to special programming software that's been designed by tampa's thermal matrix. that's what they say you will see. you don't know if i have any explosive or weapon or bomb. then you take a look at it via the infrared, and if i did have something block here, you would see a big black mark. take a look at video we shot yesterday demonstrating it. one of our subjects was wearing what was supposed to be a full-size suicide explosive vest. you can clearly see a black outline with a specially trained technician, the makers of this technology say they will be able to officially spot and detect would-be terrorists. trace: what about liquids and gels and powders? >> the powders came up on christmas day after the attempted attack to bring down the airliner from amsterdam to

detroit and the allegedly 80 grams of petn hidden in umar farouk abdulmutallab's underwear. well we tested that yesterday. you can see it as the subject is walking with the white powder bag in his crotch. you can see the black shading area. also we tested a bottle of gel that can be used in a lethal thunderstorm as welathletein a . it all came up well. they say they have been communicating with tsa. >martha: that leads us to this. abdulmutallab has been indicted on six charges. we'll bring you more when we come back right after this.

>> among the charges are one charge of attempted murder, two, attempt to commit an offense, three and four violate crimes, drugs and a machine gun. use of certain weapons of mass destruction are on the list as the legal process, the u.s. legal process moves